A Sign of the Time
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: ****The stranger makes an unexpected return into Lizzie and Frankie's life and proves that absence really does make the heart grow fonder!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was a cold and dreary morning when Lizzie found herself opening up the shop alone, and she shivered despite the warm winters jacket she had on as she slotted the spare key into the lock.

Oppressive dark, grey clouds still lingered in the skies and drifted high above her head as the drizzle pelted her relentlessly, soaking her through. She had to squint slightly in order to see what she was doing.

She'd received a phone call from Marie very early that morning, and the sound of her friend and colleague's slightly flustered voice had sent a chill through Lizzie's entire body. Marie had refused to say what it was which had got her so alarmed, although Lizzie had promised to go in early – before the start of her shift – to open up the shop and get things ready for the day - which had obviously relieved Marie, who'd appeared immediately much calmer, and promised to join her later.

It was right bang in the middle of the school summer holiday's which had meant finding somebody to take care of Frankie for a few extra hours as her mother was in the city visiting friends for a few weeks. Since Davie's death Nell hadn't felt the need to spend as much time with her daughter and grandson – confident in the knowledge that whenever she returned it wouldn't be to find that Lizzie had once again run off with an abusive husband – and the previous few months had seen her living something of a more conventional retirement, doing a little more of the things she wanted to do.

Catriona's mother – Frankie's best friend from school, who he'd been due to spend the afternoon with anyway – had offered to take him for a few extra hours however, and Lizzie had dropped her son off on her way to open up the shop.

As she finally got the door open – just as the heavens above her opened and the thin sheen of light rain turned into a torrential downpour – she made her way into the back room to find a spare towel in order to dry off, before turning on the deep fat fryer ready to prepare and cook the fish and chips for the days lunch. Having done that she stacked the counter with the tiny sachets of tomato ketchup, mayonnaise, brown sauce, salt, and vinegar, as well as making sure that they had a respectable supply of both wooden and plastic folks, and she refilled the fridge with fruit aid and coco-cola before sitting back to wait for Marie to arrive.

As she rested her head in her hands over the counter top her mind began to wonder and the thought of Marie's brother David popped into her mind, his smiling face looking back at her from behind her closed eyelids. Lizzie hadn't quite believed it when Marie had told her that the man she had recommended to her to play Frankie's father had been her brother… it had all seemed almost too good to be true in Lizzie's mind, and once she'd discovered that her son had known all along that David had not been his real father she'd started to wonder if it was all meant to be… Frankie had known the truth the whole time and yet had accepted him anyway, he'd put his complete trust in him, and over the course of just one afternoon Lizzie had learnt to trust him too.

David had been kind hearted, and warm, and had managed to make her smile… something which no man had been able to do since she'd left Davie to start a new life in safety with her son. He'd shown a genuine interest in her as a person, and compassion for what she and Frankie had been through at the hands of her abusive ex-husband. He'd proven to her that he was a good man when he'd handed back the two envelopes of money she'd given him in payment for the role he'd played in her ridiculous charade – both still intact and every note accounted for – and after the first letter in which Frankie had revealed the truth, about what he'd always known about his real father, he'd continued to write to him and had even continued to call him dad. Lizzie too had found herself writing the occasional letter and missed David incredibly when she didn't hear back from him for a few weeks. She longed for him and would have given almost anything to wind back the clock to that one perfect day they'd spent together.

Just then however she was startled out of her trance when she caught a glimpse of the clock on the opposite wall and realised that she'd been daydreaming for almost an hour, and there was still no sign of Marie. She was just beginning to grow concerned and wonder where she might have got to when she heard a knock upon the door and looked up to see Marie staring in at her, waiting to be let in.

As Lizzie made her way over to open the door for her friend she noticed that there were tears mingled with the rain soaking her friend's cheeks however, and she quickly unbolted the door before throwing it aside. Marie immediately reached out to embrace her, resting her head on Lizzie's warm shoulder.

"Marie, what is it?" Lizzie asked, alarmed.

"It's David." Marie explained. "I received a phone call this morning. Apparently he's suffered acute appendicitis, they didn't get the chance to ring me sooner cause apparently it ruptured and they had to rush him into emergency surgery, but he's making steady progress and needs somewhere to stay whilst he recovers."

Marie held Lizzie out in front of her, at arm's length, and she could see for the first time that she was smiling.

"He's coming home Lizzie." Marie explained as Lizzie's heart soared. "David's coming home."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Are you ok?" Frankie signed as he frowned over at David on the bed before him. The young boy could see, from this distance, just how pale and grey his surrogate dad looked – the beads of sweat glistening on his brow.

"I'm fine Frankie." David signed back, with a small tired smile etched onto his face. "I'm feeling much better."

This made Frankie smile, and David was pleased to see that this at least appeared to make the small boy happy – even somewhat relieved.

Lizzie too smiled.

"Where did you learn to sign?" She asked.

David stroked his abdomen gently and cleared his throat before he responded. "A friend of mine… a man I work with on the ship, his daughter is deaf… I asked him to teach me." He explained. "I thought it would help, with Frankie… the next time I saw him." He faltered, looking up at the young woman uncertainly. "The next time I saw… the next time I saw you."

Her smile crept even further across her beautiful face.

Just then Marie crept into the room to check on her brother. She took one look at the scene before her however; at David and Lizzie's expression, and at the happy content smile upon Frankie's face, and realised that she'd walked in on something potentially rather special, but also something very private between her brother and best friend.

"Why don't we go get some chips?" She turned quietly to Frankie. "Leave your mum and David to themselves for a bit… my treat!" She grinned.

The young boys face lit up with this suggestion, as he looked up at his mother, before running to David's side to wrap his arms affectionately around his waist.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." He spoke, doing his best to pronounce each word accurately, with little difficulty, as David too wrapped his arms around Frankie, pulling him into a warm and protective embrace. A smile passed across his pale face, illuminating his tired features.

"Come on then Frankie." Marie urged as the young boy finally relinquished his grip upon David and glanced over at her. She laughed as he immediately rushed from the room… if there was one thing sure to spark Frankie's interest more than his favourite subject – geography – his love of the sea and all things nautical, or satisfying his insatiable curiosity for the world with books from the local library, it was food.

"Sorry." She mouthed silently to them both as she followed Frankie from the room.

"So you intended on coming back?" Lizzie swallowed hard once they'd gone, not daring to believe what she'd just heard – his words, not hers – and hardly daring to hope.

David nodded. "I had every intention of coming back." He responded. "It broke my heart to leave you both… that is, I hoped you'd have me back. I couldn't stop thinking about you… I was thinking about you the evening all this happened…" He smiled. "A terrible pain in my gut, right here," he said, indicating the right side of his abdomen. "I thought it was the pain of missing you… turned out it was just the sensation of one of my vital organs rupturing." He laughed warmly.

"You know David," Lizzie chuckled, "you really know how to make a girl feel special."

"I'm sorry." He nodded. "Tell me though," He teased, "do you have that effect on all men?"

"Only the special ones I _really_ love." She smiled. David appeared quite taken aback by this, and Lizzie blushed, her cheeks hot and flushing red as she quickly averted his gaze in her embarrassment. She hadn't meant to actually voice what she'd been feeling, and so she didn't notice as his confused frown turned into a smile as she occupied herself fluffing his pillows, until he grasped her gently by the arm.

"How about a cuddle?" He asked, and she too immediately grinned. Silence ensued for a moment as the two looked deep into each other's eyes. Lizzie liked the way David made her feel, she felt like a young girl again, falling in love for the first time, and she couldn't believe how safe she felt in his company when they'd only known each other for such a short space of time.

She nodded, snuggling down in the bed beside him. It wasn't long before he mustered up the courage to wrap his strong arm around her, and she nestled her head into his shoulder, breathing in the scent of his skin and the slight musky smell of sweat, as his sweet breath caressed her cheeks and ruffled her dishevelled hair.

"David…" She frowned. She didn't quite know how to phrase what she was about to say, she was confused, and felt vulnerable at how easy she appeared to now find it to reveal some of her most intimate of feelings, when she'd spent so many years trying to build up barriers to keep them safely locked away. But she'd never been surer of anything than how she now felt in her whole life before. "I… I think I'm in love with you…" She faltered finally.

He turned to look upon her happily with this, and she was rather taken aback to see not even the smallest glimmer of surprise in his eyes. "Well, would that really be such a bad thing?" He asked.

Lizzie considered this for a moment, before finally coming to her conclusion. She shook her head, with a small smile. 'No,' she thought to herself, 'perhaps not.'

She was happy, for the first time in years she was happier then she'd been in a very long time, she'd found another reason to live again besides her wonderful son. She'd finally found the one thing which she'd long since thought impossible; a man she could trust, her soul mate, somebody she could talk to and share everything with… and she was sure that it wouldn't matter to David if that was a funny and amusing accolade from Frankie's childhood, her gripes about some of the rude and miserable customers at work, or a warm cuddle in bed during a cold winters evening.

"No." She grinned, despite herself. "I don't suppose it would."

Then he sprang the question on her… a most unexpected question…

"Well, how would you feel if I said I wanted to become Frankie's dad?"

Lizzie sat bolt upright on the bed – unsure if she'd heard him correctly, and even more uncertain as to how to react.

"I'm sorry." He quickly corrected himself, reacting to her response. "I didn't mean… I mean I didn't…" This time it was his turn to flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry that was out of order." He apologised. "I've offended you… what I meant was…"

Lizzie turned to him, smiling, however. She wasn't too sure what it was that inspired her calm reaction – if any other man had made a remark such as this she was sure she wouldn't have taken it so lightly, and have been so accepting of it, but something about the image this stirred inside of her felt right… and as she searched deep within herself for some sign, or an answer, she realised to her surprise that this was what she wanted too.

"You already are." She smiled. "You're the only daddy he's ever known."

"I think I love you too Lizzie…" He explained, looking longingly and deep into her eyes as he spoke these words. "Something stirred inside me the very moment I first laid eyes on you in that bar; you were beautiful, you _are_ beautiful, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since… I don't know what to do."

"Well," She sighed, as she leaned in towards him to peck him delicately upon the lips, closing her eyes and leaning into his kiss as she did so. She knew that this felt right. "How about we just go wherever the tide is taking us, and take things one day at a time?"


End file.
